After more than a decade, millions of people may no longer wake up to Gayle King on their televisions. The longtime morning news anchor is expected to soon be leaving her role at CBS, per a report. However, King may not be finished with the network, however, as CBS shakes up its news coverage. King herself is also speaking out about the report.
King expected to leave ‘CBS Mornings’ but may stay at network
Variety reports that multiple sources are indicating that King is likely to leave her role as an anchor for ‘CBS Mornings’ next year. King has been with CBS News since 2011 and has been a host of the network’s morning show, previously known as ‘CBS This Morning’ since 2012. During her time at CBS, King has been at the center of several defining moments, including conducting an infamous interview with an unhinged R. Kelly, talking exclusively with Megan Thee Stallion about her shooting, and traveling to space with other celebrities, including Katy Perry. She also faced backlash, including misogynistic attacks, over bringing up Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault allegations during coverage of his death. King’s current contract with CBS ends in May 2026, and though she is expected to leave the morning anchor spot, she may remain with CBS News in some capacity, perhaps even producing her own programs.
What Gayle King said about the reports of her upcoming departure
On Friday morning, King took issue with the reporting about her possible departure. Leaving the CBS studio Friday morning, King told TMZ “All I’ve been told by everybody in this building is that they want me here, they like the job I’m doing, I like the job I’m doing. I like the job and the people I work with.” King added, “Shat I’m not going to do is negotiate in the media. Not doing that.”
Corporate shakeups at CBS, other networks
King’s expected departure comes as CBS undergoes an ownership transition and major shakeups in its news division. Parent company Paramount merged with Skydance, owned by David Ellison, son of billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison. The merger has led to significant shakeups at Paramount, including significant layoffs of Paramount staff and executives. At CBS, the restructuring has included scaling back some international offices, retooling CBS Saturday Morning, and canceling two streaming news programs. Among the news cuts at CBS, the network has eliminated its race and culture unit; NBC News similarly eliminated its units covering Black, Asian, Latino and LGBTQ news.
Trump appeasement from news networks
In addition to cutting staff for reasons of cost or corporate restructuring, major news networks have been criticized for seeming to cave to pressure from the Trump administration. The Paramount-Skydance merger, which required the approval of the Federal Communications Commission, has led to criticisms that CBS has censored anti-Trump voices like late night host Stephen Colbert and accusations that it has news coverage in a more conservative direction to appease Trump. Other networks have also faced accusations of catering to the Trump administration, including ABC’s suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for comments he made after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. King is one of many media figures to be attacked by Trump; in August Trump went after King on social media, posting, “Gayle King’s career is over. She should have stayed with her belief in TRUMP. She never had the courage to do so. No talent, no ratings, no strength!!!”
There has been no direct indication that Trump or politics played a role in King’s expected departure from CBS Mornings. But the move does happen as CBS News and other news networks’ programming become more conservative and less diverse. Even in this atmosphere, however, King may remain a presence at CBS after being one of its most prominent faces for over a decade.